Asset Bundle Manifest Comparison for Bandwidth Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing asset management systems for software updates are inefficient, particularly in devices with limited network bandwidth and storage constraints, as they often require downloading and updating all assets instead of only the necessary changes, leading to unnecessary data transfer and resource usage.
Innovation Solution
A system where a server maintains a bundle of the latest assets with a corresponding manifest, allowing devices to compare local assets with the manifest and request only the missing or updated assets, which are then sent in compressed form through multiple download threads, optimizing network bandwidth usage and reducing storage requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the device downloads all assets to update locally stored assets, then the device ensures it has the latest versions of all assets, but network bandwidth usage increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary update information (diffs) from the complete asset bundle on the server. Instead of transferring all assets, the system identifies and downloads only the specific assets that need updating by comparing the device's local asset manifest with the server's asset manifest, thereby reducing network bandwidth consumption while ensuring asset version completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The asset update process is segmented into multiple stages: (1) downloading a compact asset manifest containing checksums and metadata, (2) comparing local assets with the manifest to identify updates needed, (3) downloading only the specific assets that require updates. This segmentation allows the system to minimize data transfer by downloading only essential update information rather than complete asset bundles.
2Reliability
If the device downloads all assets for updates, then the device ensures complete asset updates, but storage space consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and downloads only the specific assets that need updating rather than downloading complete asset bundles. By comparing local asset checksums with server manifest checksums, the device identifies exactly which assets require updates and downloads only those, thereby reducing storage space consumption while maintaining asset update completeness.
3Loss of energy
If the device downloads compressed assets, then the network bandwidth usage is reduced, but processing resources and time are consumed for decompression
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial action by downloading assets in a compressed format only when absolutely necessary (when network bandwidth is the primary constraint), rather than always decompressing. The device can choose to download compressed assets and decompress them on-demand or maintain a balance between compressed and uncompressed assets based on available storage and processing resources, thereby reducing network bandwidth usage while managing processing resource consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for reducing network bandwidth usage by managing data file assets in a bundle of data file assets requested for download are provided. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a manifest associated with a bundle including one or more assets. The manifest includes information regarding the one or more assets. The method includes comparing the information with locally stored assets. The method includes determining, based on the comparison, at least one asset to be requested. The method includes sending a request for the at least one asset. The method includes receiving, in response to the request, the at least one asset. Systems and machine-readable media are also provided.